Lukas Falcke

This study adopts a temporal perspective to investigate how boundary spanners can increase the inflow of external knowledge by engaging with both external and internal parties. We add to prior work on knowledge transfer by shifting the focus from engagement levels to investigating engagement dynamics, especially the degree of switching between external and internal engagement across consecutive time periods. Drawing from a cognitive perspective, we argue that switching strongly between engagement types is associated with a segmented knowledge structure that enables quick and efficient categorical processing when knowledge can simply be “channeled” from source to recipient units. In contrast, weak or no switching is associated with a blended knowledge structure and more reflective processing, which is particularly helpful when knowledge transfer requires more translation and transformation. Correspondingly, we adopt a contingency perspective and theorize that the cognitive advantages associated with stronger versus weaker switching weigh differently, contingent on the stickiness of knowledge to be transferred and the nature of boundary-spanning activities that vary in importance over time. Fixed effects models of eight waves of original survey data reveal that, in line with our theorizing, the association between switching and knowledge transfer becomes increasingly negative (1) the more boundary spanners access knowledge that is transspecialist in nature, (2) the greater the organizational distance between source and recipient units, and (3) in later phases of the boundary-spanning process.

This study investigates how, why, and under which conditions incumbents and new entrants realign in innovation ecosystems to collectively tackle the grand challenge (GC) of climate change. The discussion on innovation and GCs is still lacking sufficient theoretical underpinnings and empirical insights to make sense of the role of for-profit firms and their collaborative innovation efforts to address the GCs of our times. We introduce innovation ecosystems as a theoretical lens for understanding the combinations of technological inter faces and strategic relations that firms can employ to craft value propositions with high potential for tackling GCs. Empirically, this study focuses on the GC of climate change that requires a transformation of the electricity sector. We investigate collaborative pilot projects between 10 international electric utili ties and 57 clean-tech startups. In these pilots, incumbents and new entrants explore low-carbon value propositions through novel technological interfaces and strategic relations. Via qualitative comparative analysis, we identify three configurations of ecosystem realignment with high climate impact: an incumbent-led digital platform realignment, a device complementor and customer-enabling realignment, and a new orchestrator realignment. Based on a multiple case analysis, we uncover three innovation mechanisms that explain why these specific configurations unlock climate impact: they enhance resource efficiency, the flexibility and resilience of infrastructure, and the trad ing and leveraging of information and resources. On this basis, we contribute to the literature at the intersection of innovation management and GCs by developing theory that explicates (1) how the realignment of incumbents and startups in innovation ecosystems changes existing industry structures; (2) why specific configurations of such ecosystems are associated with high cli mate impact and are thus effective in addressing GCs; and (3) the boundary conditions under which collective innovation efforts in ecosystems can trans late into climate impact

The success of open innovation depends on the individuals that stand at the interface of the firm and its external partners. These boundary spanners need to cultivate external search processes by searching broadly and deeply across knowledge sources, as well as transfer ideas and knowledge from external sources to their home organizations. While prior work has generated important insights into the performance implications of external search breadth, this research has remained largely cross-sectional in nature and we have limited insights into the temporal dynamics of external search openness. This study adopts a temporal perspective and makes three contributions to the literature on individual-level openness. First, we identify search trajectories and systematically analyze to what extent both external search breadth and depth can be explained by differences within individuals (over time) versus differences between individuals (that are constant across time). Second, adopting an attention-based view we investigate the influence of organizational context and context changes on individual-level search trajectories. And third, we provide some first insights into how external search trajectories relate to the amount of knowledge transferred from external sources to the home organization."